Beneath the Cherry Blossom Trees
by dokidork
Summary: Hanamaru Kunikida has been in love with her best friend Ruby Kurosawa for years. They've finally entered highschool together, and Maru's feelings are growing stronger. Will her love be requited? Or will she be rejected?
1. Chapter 1 New Beginnings

I love her. I really do.

Ever since the day I met her, I've felt so strongly about her.

I know we're just supposed to be best friends, but I love her even more than just her friend.

I want to be with her every second of the day, I want to kiss her and hold her.

I love her so much.

I love my best friend Ruby Kurosawa.

It's the first day of highschool! I'm so excited and nervous at the same time. But I'm also scared, too. What if we're not in the same class? What if she's sick and won't come?

My heart began to beat faster. Even just thinking about her made me go crazy.

I picked up my school bag lying up against my mirror. I took a look at myself.

"Wow…" I thought. "I really am a highschooler now, huh?"

I admired myself in the mirror, looking at my new school uniform made me smile.

"I look so cute!" I thought. "I wonder what Ruby looks like in her uniform.."

My face suddenly turned red at the thought. I held my warm face in my hands, feeling embarrassed.

"Ah.." I mumble quietly to myself. "I shouldn't think of those things.."

"Think of what?" My mother appeared at my door. I made a loud screeching sound at her sudden presence.

"Maru, darling, you're going to be late." She said smiling, ignoring my sudden screech.

"What?! Oh gosh, I've gotta go! Ruby is wating!" I said panicking as I sprinted out of my house.

"Bye, sweetie! Have a good day!" I heard my mother shout in the distance.

Panting, I finally made it to the school gates.

"I'm- here-" I said through pants. "Huh?"

Looking around, nobody was here.

"What?! Oh geez," I thought. "Ruby is gonna be so upset."

I got worried. Ruby gets scared very easily, and if there was nobody here to greet her and guide her around, who knows what could happen. The worries filled my head as I frantically ran inside the school gates. I then stopped for a second, looked up and saw the cherry blossom trees all around me. I watched as the petals fell softly to the ground. It was so beautiful. The thousands of petals coated the ground and made it look as if I were standing on a soft, pink cloud.

Suddenly, in the distance I could see a figure standing there with their back towards me. Looking closer, I could see it was Ruby.

I wanted to go and run to her, and hug her and apologise but I just stood there for a moment, admiring her.

She looked so beautiful. Her red hair flowed in the wind amongst the falling cherry blossoms. I was right. She looked so cute in her uniform..

"Maru?!" She yelled loudly, looking at me. She had tears in her eyes, and she was shaking. And for a moment, I just stood there. Looking at her. She was the most beautiful thing my eyes had ever seen. I couldn't pull my eyes away.

"Maru!" She yelled, running towards me.

"Ruby.." I replied quietly.

She ran into me, hugging me instantally. She sobbed softly as she spoke.

"Maru, I was so worried!" She cried. "Please don't do this to me again.. I can understand if you're late but please, I was so worried.."

I got lost in her words. Her voice was so cute, so soft..

"Maru?" She sniffled, looking up at me.

I blushed immediately, looking away when I saw her face. I know I see her every day but just seeing her now made me feel different. I looked back and let out a giggle.

"Ruby," I said smiling. I picked off a cherry blossom that was sitting on her nose.

Ruby blushed and immediately pulled away from my hug.

"Hey, t-this is serious Maru! We're late for the opening ceremony! Come on!" She said pulling on my arm.

"Ah, right. Sorry," I said apologetically.

I don't know if it meant anything, but right then and there she grabbed hold of my hand and pulled me along as she ran.

I looked down and saw my hand in hers. I couldn't control my blush. It felt like the temperature in my face went up as every second went by.

Her hand felt so nice in mine. So soft, so small, so..

"Maru?" Ruby said in a concerned tone. "We're here, c'mon, let's go inside before anyone notices."

"Right! Right. Sorry again," I said, trying to avoid eye contact.

"I must have zoned out.." I thought. "We're already here?"

She held onto my hand tighter as we quietly snuck into the entrance ceremony. We found a spot at the back and sat down.

But for some reason, Ruby didn't let go of my hand. I wanted to say something but I really didn't want her to let go. So I just sat there, trying my best to stare ahead and listen to the ceremony. Hardly even 5 minutes in Ruby fell asleep. I could hear her snoring softly next to me. As I turned to look at her, she fell onto my shoulder.

I sat there, stiff. I didn't move a muscle. My face felt so hot that I could barely stand it, but I didn't want to move. I didn't want her to let go of my hand, or wake up.

I found myself putting my head onto hers. I knew it was risky, but I couldn't help myself.

"Hn..h.." I heard Ruby mumble. "Maru.."

Maru?! Is she saying _my_ name? No.. surely I misheard.

But still.. It made me smile. As I sat there, my warm face against her head, and our hands intertwined, I found myself falling asleep.


	2. Chapter 2 Pay Attention to Me!

When I awoke, I found Ruby there standing in front of me.

"Maru! You're awake," She said cheerily as she smiled. Her face seemed to be tinted a soft shade of red.

"Ruby? Is something wrong?" I asked, concerned. She then turned away from me and started shifting around slightly. I could tell she was embarrassed.

"N-nothing I just f-fell asleep and…" She trailed off. "Ah! W-we gotta go, Maru! The gym is closing soon,"

Why is she avoiding the topic?

Oh. I just remembered. We fell asleep hand in hand, maybe she was embarrassed about that?

I started to blush myself. I totally forgot that happened…

I smiled. Even if it was embarrassing to remember, I enjoyed that moment so much..

"Maru!" Ruby yelled at me, bringing my attention back to her.

"Ah, sorry, sorry," I managed to blurt out. "How long were we sleeping?"

"I'm not sure, but when I woke up, the ceremony was already over." She replied. "We've gotta go, Maru! It's lunch now."

"Ah, okay," I said standing up. I paused for a second. I had an idea.

"Maru? What's wrong?" Ruby asked with concern in her voice. "Why are you just standing there?"

"Aren't you going to hold my hand?" I asked, smirking.

Ruby's whole face turned red and she started getting all flustered. She turned away from me and I could hear her squeak from embarrassment. She's just so cute.

"F-fine," Ruby said, stuttering.

To my surprise, when I looked up I saw Ruby hold out her hand in front of me. I wasn't expecting this kind of reaction. I started blushing uncontrollably.

"Ah, I was just joking you know," I managed to get out. Ruby looked at me with a sad look on her face.

"R-right," She said, turning away from me. "I knew t-that. I was just p-playing along,"

"W-we've got to get going now, Maru." I heard her voice crack slightly as she spoke. Oh no. What have I done? I've gotta make this right.

I walked up to Ruby and put my arms around her waist, cuddling up against her back.

"I'm sorry," I said softly. "I didn't mean to upset you. I do want to hold your hand."

For a few minutes, she didn't say anything. We just stood there together in the empty gym, with me hugging her. I felt her relax under my arms.

"…Let's go." She finally said. I felt her grasp my hand, intertwining it with hers.

My heart couldn't take much more. I wasn't sure if this was good for me… I mean, she didn't like me, right? At least not in the same way I did. No. There's no way. I'm sure this is just something friends do… Right?

Ruby started walking forwards, with my hand in hers. I followed behind her. Her hand was kind of sweaty… Was she nervous?

"Hey, Maru?" Ruby said quietly enough for me to hear.

My heart skipped a beat hearing her say my name.

"Y-yes?" I replied.

She stopped walking for a second.

"I, uh… Nevermind." She said even quieter.

That's… Odd? I could have sworn she had wanted to say something. Oh no. Maybe I'm making her uncomfortable? Maybe I should just let go of her hand?

Ruby opened the door to the outside of the gym, and gave my hand a tight squeeze.

I was shocked, my heart was beating so fast that I couldn't take it. I didn't know what to do, so I just gave her a squeeze back. She let out a small squeak when I did so.

"Sorry, too hard?" I asked.

"..." No response.

What kind of question is "too hard?", anyway? I'm so stupid sometimes.

We walked hand in hand to our lockers. She let go of my hand to open her locker and I did the same. We both grabbed our lunch and headed off.

"The cherry blossoms are so beautiful, don't you think?" I said, looking around me in amazement.

"Yeah, you're right." I heard Ruby say in reply. "Hey, Maru do you think-"

I zoned out, staring at the cherry blossoms. I was captivated by their beauty. I started to walk ahead, away from Ruby without even realising. I just kept my eyes on the trees, and was entranced by how beautiful they were.

Suddenly, I felt something squeeze my hand. I looked down next to me to see Ruby there before me, avoiding eye contact with a massive blush spread across her face.

"Ah, sorry, I must have spaced out…" I said, feeling quite embarrassed.

"…" She didn't reply. She just stood there next to me, holding my hand tight.

"Um… Want to go sit down and eat?" I asked.

"…Yes." She replied quietly.

"O-okay," I said. Did I mess up? I hope I didn't upset her too much.. I just get distracted so easily.

With her hand in mine, we went to go sit down and eat down by a seat near the cherry blossoms.

I let go of her hand and opened up my lunch. Ruby was strangely quiet.

"Wow! Mom packed such a lovely lunch today! What about yours, Ruby?" I said, cheerily.

"…" No response. Oh no. Could I really have upset her this much..?

"Well, uh, what about our classes? I'm so excited for cooking-" I started to say, but I was interrupted by Ruby suddenly standing up over me, hands on my shoulders.

"Ruby..?" I said with confusion in my voice.

"Maru.." She spoke with a stern tone in her voice. "No matter what happens, please pay attention to me, too."


End file.
